Bobbin loader



April 28, 1970 w. H BANKS BOBBIN LOADER 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 5.1967 0C 2 mt PE QC -INVENTOR.. WALDO H.5ANIA5 am am ATTORNEY April 28,1970 w,lH. BANKS 3,508,377

BOBBIN LOADER Filed May 5; 1967 V 9 Sheets-Sheet 2' ATTORNEY April 28,1970 y w. HJBANKS BOBBI N LOADER 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 5. 196'? A m,7 v V I ring ET w 1) INVENTOR. WALDO H. BANKS ATTORNEY April 28, 1970w. H. BANKS- BOBBIN LOADER Filed May 5. 1967 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 WALDO H.BANKS April 28, 1970 w. H. BANKS BOBBIN LOADER Filed May 5. 196'? 9Sheets-Sheet 5.

ATTORNEY w. H. BANKS BOBBIN' LOADER A ril 28, 1970 9 Sheets-Sheet 6Filed May 5, 1967 WAL O H. BANKS MGM 0W W. H. BANKS BOBBIN LOADER A ril28, 1970 9 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed May 5, 1967 INVENTOR. \A/ALDO H. BANKSam QM ATTORNEY April 28, 1970 w. H. BANKS 3,508,377

BOBBIN LOADER Filed May 5. 1967 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR. \A/ALDO H.BANKS ATTORNEY A ril 28, 1970 w. BANKS BOBBIN LOADER v 9 Sheets-Sheet 9Filed May 5. 1967 23 I91 Hi 255 I92 INVENTOR. WALDO H. BANKS 0M Q WATTORNEY US. Cl. 53160 United States Patent M 3,508,377 BOBBIN LOADERWaldo H. Banks, Hopedale, Mass., assignor, by mesne assignments, to TheCarolina Patent Development Trust Filed May 5, 1967, Set. N0. 636,439Int. Cl. B65b 19/34, 39/12; B31c 1/08 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA bobbin loading apparatus having means for receiving stripped or emptybobbins and a further means for guiding said bobbins individually into acontainer of the type adapted for use with a bobbin donning machine.

Background of the invention The invention relates to a bobbin containerloading apparatus for placing such bobbins as warp tubes into acontainer which is adapted to be mounted on and to supply empty bobbinsto a bobbin donning mechanism such as shown and described in US. patentapplication 616,006, filed Feb. 4, 1967, now Patent No. 3,398,520.

A known form of bobbin donning mechanism for impaling empty fillingbobbins on a row of spindles supported by a spinning frame is shown anddescribed in US. Patent No. 3,164,946.

To decrease the time element of hand loading stripped warp tubes intocontainers and to increase the efficiency of donning Warp bobbins on aspinning frame, the present invention provides an automatic means forloading the containers which simply have to be transferred and placed onthe donning mechanism as required. Additionally, the present loader isnot restricted to a particular size of warp tube, but is adapted toaccommodate tubes of different lengths and diameters.

Summary of the invention The bobbin loader comprising the inventionincludes an inclined track that is adapted to support a plurality ofbobbin containers which are movable through the force of gravity alongthe length of the track.

The container loading position is more or less centrally located withregards to the length of the track' with the loading apparatus disposedbeneath and adjacent one side of said loading position.

An indexing means functioning in timed relation with the loadingapparatus releases a container when full permitting it to move away fromloading position and allows a following empty container to move intothat position. The loading apparatus includes a hopper element forreceiving the bobbins and an enclosed chute communica'ting with saidhopper element for receiving and guiding the bobbins individually. Thebobbins are guided to a position beneath the container and by means of aplunger are pushed upwardly through a pair of opposed spring biased gatemembers and into the container through an opening in the bottom thereof.The opening in the bottom of the container is provided with a slidabledoor which is caused to open as it is received into bobbin loadingposition and caused to close as it leaves that position. The opposedspring biased gate members permit a bobbin to be pushed upwardlytherethrough and prevent any possible downward movement in the direction7 of the plunger member.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a perspective view of thebobbin loader according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of a number of the mechanicalcomponents of the loading apparatus showing by means of full and phantomlines the extent of their movement;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the bobbin loader showingthe container loading position with the container omitted;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the source of drive for the loadingapparatus and the indexing means;

FIG. 5 is a view in end elevation of the source of drive shown in FIG. 4showing the mechanism for urging a bobbin through the enclosed chute andrestricting movement of the following bobbins;

' FIG. 6 is a view in side elevation of the electrically controlledmeans for controlling the number of bobbins loaded into a singlecontainer;

FIG. 7 is a view in side elevation of a portion of the bobbin loadershowing the means for controlling the number and position of the bobbinswithin a container and the electrically controlled mechanical elementsfor indexing the containers;

FIG. 7A is an enlarged view of a portion of the indexing apparatus shownin FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is a view partially in section taken through the center of theloading position showing a container in said position and the rotatablespoked members for indexing the containers; and

FIG. 9 is a wiring diagram of the electrical circuit for controlling thevarious mechanical elements of the loader.

Description of the preferred embodiment Now referring to FIG. 1, thebobbin loader according to the invention is shown in perspective andidentified generally by numeral 10. The loader includes among otherparts an inclined track extending the length thereof which includes apair of spaced rail members 11 and 12. These rail members are supportedin parallel relation by a plurality of pairs of vertically extendingframe elements 13 which are fixedly attached at their lower ends toasupporting base 14. The upper ends of these frame elements are fixed tothe. outer sides of the rail members 11 and 12 and to obtain thenecessary incline of the track, each pair of said frame elements isshorter than the preceding pair as seen looking from one end of theloader.

The rail members 11 and 12 are provided on their inner and opposed sideswith a plurality of roller members 15 and 16, respectively, which aredisposed at spaced points along the length of each rail member (FIGS. 1,3, 7 and 8). These roller members are adapted to support bobbincontainers 17 for movement through the force of gravity along the lengthof the inclined track.

At a position intermediate the ends of the inclined track and fixedlyattached thereto there is provided a laterally extending supportingframe generally indicated by numeral 18 (FIG. 1). This supporting frameextends along the inclined track for a portion of its length with thelower portion thereof being attached to the supporting base 14 by meansof brackets 19 and 20. The upperv portion of the supporting frame 18 isdisposed above the upper surface of the inclined track and at one endadjacent to the track the corner element of said supporting frame, whichis identified by numeral 21 (FIGS. 1, 3 and 8), extends upwardly beyondsaid upper portion to support mechanical-and electrical components ofthe loader to be more fully described hereinafter. Assembled in opposedrelation to corner element 21 and disposed on the outer side of railmember 12 there is provided a vertically extending arch support 22 ofequal height to corner element 21 and is interconnected with the latterby means of an arch connection 23 suitably 3 attached to the upper endsof said arch support and corner element (FIGS. 1, 3 and 8).

The supporting frame 18 provides a means for supporting many of theelectrical and mechanical components of the loading apparatus, whichreceive their source of power from a control box 24 (FIG. 1) which isfed through lead 25 from any suitable supply.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and a driving motor 26 is shown mounted on a frame27 which is fixedly attached to and intermediate the lower portion offrame elements 13 and is disposed within said frame elements at aposition approximately midway between the supporting frame 18 and thecontrol box 24.

The motor 26 includes a driving sprocket 2-8 which by means of a linkchain 29 is in driving relation with a sprocket 30. Sprocket 30 is fixedon a horizontally disposed shaft 31 which is supported for rotarymovement in a bearing member 32. This bearing member 32 is fixedlyattached to the frame element 13 shown in FIG. 4 and the hub portionthereof is in alignment with an aperture 33 provided in said frameelement. Shaft 31 extends through and beyond each side of the bearingmember 32 and the outermost end supports the sprocket 30. A secondsprocket 34 is fixed on shaft 31 intermediate sprocket 30 and the sideof frame element 13- and by means of a link chain 35 is in drivingrelation with a driven sprocket 36 (FIG. 4). This driven sprocket 36 isfixed on a shaft 37 which is supported in a similar manner to shaft 31in a bearing member 38 that is fixed to a vertically extending frameelement identified in FIG. 4 by numeral 39. Being horizontally disposed,shaft 37 supports the driven sprocket 36 at its outer end and theopposite or inner end has a lifting cam 40 fixed thereon which is causedto rotate with sprocket 36 in the direction of the indicating arrow 41shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 7. The lifting cam rotates continuously whilethe bobbin loader is in operation and functions in cooperation with themeans for indexing the containers along the inclined track and will bemore fully described hereinafter.

The inner end of shaft 31 has a crank member 42 assembled thereon whichis adapted to rotate with said shaft 31. One end of a pitman 43 ispivotably attached to the crank member 42 by means of a bolt 44 and theopposite end ispivotably attached to the upper portion of a crank armgenerally indicated by numeral 45 (FIGS. 2, 4 and 5) The lower end ofthe crank arm 45 is in the form of a hub 46 which supports said crankarm for oscillating movement by the pitman 43 on a horizontally disposedplunger arm shaft 47. The plunger arm shaft extends below andtransversely of the inclined track and is supported by and journaled inaligned bearing members 48 and 49 (FIG. 8) that are assembled in theupper portion of upwardly directed support arms 50 and 51 which arefixedly attached in opposed relation at their lower ends to thesupporting base 14.

The upper end of the crank arm 45 is provided with an integrally formedarcuated finger 52 and is so disposed as to extend in a direction awayfrom the crank arms point of assembly with thepitman 43 (FIG. 2). Atransverse slot 53 is provided at the top of the crank arm andcommunicates with the upper surface of the arcuated finger 52.

As shown in FIG. 5 a collar 54 serves as a means for maintaining thecrank arm 45 in position on the plunger arm shaft 47 and in operatingalignment with the crank member 42 and pitman 43.

Intermediate the crank arm 45 and the support arm 51 a crank feed armgenerally indicated by numeral 55 is provided which is fixedly assembledon the plunger arm shaft 47 and, extending generally upwardly, itprotrudes slightly above the crank arm 45 when in alignment therewith.The uppermost end of the crank feed arm 55 is 4 bifurcated as at 56(FIGS. 2 and 5) and supports therein a pivotable key 57.

By linkage elements to be more fully described hereinafter the pivotablekey is at times suspended and at others released to contact the suppersurface of the arcuated finger 52 of the crank arm 45. When thepivotable key is in contact with the arcuated finger said key will dropinto the transverse slot 53 of the crank arm as the latter is caused tomove forwardly or in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2 by actionof the crank member 42 and pitman 43. When the pivotable key 57 dropsinto the transverse slot 53 is locks the crank feed arm 55 in alignmentwith the crank arm 45 and as the latter arm moves rearwardly throughaction of the pitman and crank, said crank feed arm is caused to movewith the crank arm, thereby causing the plunger arm shaft 47 to rotate apredetermined number of degrees in the direction of the indicating arrow58 shown in FIG. 2.

One end of a plunger feed arm 59 is fixedly attached to the plunger armshaft 47 intermediate its ends and at a position approximately midwaybetween the support arms 50 and 51 (FIGS. 2 and -8). The opposite end ofplunger feed arm supports a plunger member generally indicated bynumeral 60 for movement in a vertical plane as said plunger feed arm iscaused to move from the phantom line to solid line position, shown inFIG. 2, by the rotational movement of the plunger arm shaft 47.

The plunger member 60 includes a lower horizontally disposed rod 61 witha pair of guide rods 62 and 63 suitably attached to and extendingupwardly from the ends of said rod -61. Guide rods 62 and 63 are guidedfor vertical movement in aligned apertures 64 and 65, respectively,provided in a guide bracket 66 disposed beneath the container loadingposition of the inclined track. The guide bracket 66 extends between apair of the frame elements 13 and is attached to the latter by means ofbolts 67 and nuts 68. The upper ends of the guide rods '62 and 63 areinterconnected by a bar 69 (FIGS. 2 and 8) which serves as a means forpushing the bobbins upwardly into the container 17 and will be morefully described hereinafter.

That portion of the plunger feed arm, which supports rod 61, of theplunger member 60 defines an elongated opening 70 that is formed from apiece of fiat stock and attached to said arm by cap screws 71 (FIG. 2).This elongated opening 70 prevents any possible binding of the plungermember as it is caused to reciprocate by permitting the rod 61 to movewithin the limits of said openmg.

To control and adjust the distance which the. plunger feed arm 59 can belowered, the lower tip portion is caused to contact an eccentric disc72. This disc may be rotated to any desired position and is supported bya shaft 73 the ends of which are suitably attached to a pair of theframe elements 13.

A hopper element 74 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 assembles on the upperportion of the supporting frame 18 shown in FIG. 1 and is adapted toreceive warp tubes or so-called bobbins which have been stripped and incondition to have new yarn packages built thereon. The hopper elementcommunicates with an enclosed bobbin chute 75 centrally disposed in theupper portion of the supporting frame 18 and extending downwardly thelower portion of said chute communicates with an angularly directedchute 76 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 5). This chute guides the bobbins to aninclined chute 77 (FIG. 2) which is positioned directly below thecontainer loading position on the inclined track.

The bobbins 78 (FIG. 2) are caused to roll to a position directly abovethe bar 69 of the plunger member 60 when received into the inclinedchute 77. At this point the latter communicates with an upwardlydirected guide chute 79 the upper portion of which is provided with apair of opposed spring biased gate members 80 and 81.

These gate members extend between the rail members 11 and 12 of theinclined track and when a container 17 moves into lOading position adoor 82 (FIG. 2) in the bottom thereof is automatically opened by cammeans 83 and 84 (FIG. 3) which are fixedly attached to the rail members11 and 12, respectively.

FIG; 2 illustrates the manner and mechanism for individual guidance andadvancement of the bobbins 78 from the hopper element 74 through thecommunicating" chutes to the container 17. Assuming there are bobbinsarranged within the communicating chutes as shown in FIG. 2., the upperbobbin as it moves downwardly in the enclosed bobbin chute 75 contacts abobbin sensing element or indicator door 85 and pivots it downwardly tothe solid line position shown in this figure of drawing. Furthermovement of the bobbin is restricted by a pivotable escape.- ment latch86 which as shown in FIG. 5 is supported for pivotable movement on a rod87. Rod 87 is journaled in spaced bearing elements 88 and 89 which areattached to one side of the enclosed bobbin chute 75 by means of screws90 and 91, respectively.

A portion of the escapement latch 86 protrudes through an opening 92(FIG. 5) into the enclosed chute 75 with said portion being recessed asat 93 (FIG. 2). Recess 93 is adapted to receive the bobbin and retain ituntil the escapement latch is caused to pivot in a manner to bedescribed.

A lever 94 is fixed to one end of rod 87, and by means of a coil spring95 interconnecting the free end thereof with an ear 96 (FIG. 2) disposedbelow and which forms a part of the enclosed chute 75, the escapementlatch 86 is continuously urged to that position for retainment of abobbin within said chute.

Indicator door 85 is fixed to a lever 97 which is pivotably mounted on asupport 98 and movement of said indicator door to vertical positionshown in FIG. 2 causes said lever 97 to pivot upwardly to the solid lineposition shown in this figure of drawing. A vertically disposed linkagerod 99 is pivotably attached at its upper end to the outer end of lever97 and the lower end is pivotably attached to one end of a double armedlever 100 as at'101. This lever is pivotably mounted intermediate itsends as at 102 and that end opposite the connection to linkage rod 99 isadapted to support the pivotable key 57 carried by the crank feed arm 55in an elevated position out of contact with the arcuated finger 52 ofthe crank arm 45.

Movement of lever 97 to the solid line position shown in FIG. 2 causesthe linkage rod 99 to be pulled upwardly which in turn pivots the doublearm lever 100 to a position that allows the pivotable key ,57 to contactthe armated finger 52 of the crank arm 45.

As the crank arm moves forwardly or in a clockwise direction as viewedin FIG. 2, the pivotable key 57 drops into the transverse slot 53 of thecrank arm 45 to lock the crank feed arm 55 in alignment with said crankarm. As the crank arm is caused to move rearwardly, the crank feed armmoves with it and rotates the plunger arm shaft 47 in the direction ofthe indicating arrow 58 in FIG, 2. Rotation of the plunger arm shaft 47in this direction causes the plunger feed arm 59 to pivot to the solidline position shown in FIG. 2 and the plunger member 60 supportedthereby moves upwardly through the guide chute 79 pushing a bobbin 78through the gate members 80 and 81 and into the container 17. The gatemembers being spring biased one toward the other prevents the bobbinsfrom dropping back into the guide chute 79 when the plunger returns toits initial position.

As the crank arm 45 and crank feed arm 55 approach back center or theirrearmost position, the upper end of said crank feed arm contacts adepending arm 103 of a bell crank lever generally indicated by numeral104 and pivots it from the dotted to solid line position shown in FIG.2.

This bell crank lever 104 is pivotably mounted to a support bracket 105and the second arm 106 thereof is connected by means of a link element107 to the end of one arm 108 of a second bell crank lever generallyindicated by numeral 109 (FIG. 2). This lever is pivotably supported toa bracket 110 and the second arm 111 thereof is interconnected to theescapement latch 86 by means of a link rod 112. Link rod 112 ispivotably attached to a rod 113 (FIG. 5) which extends from theescapement latch 86 and movement of the bell crank lever 104 asdescribed causes the linkage connected thereto to move the link rod 112in the direction of the indicating arrow 114 shown in FIG. 2. Thismovement pivots the escapement latch 86 and releases the bobbin 78retained thereby permitting continued advancement of the latter throughthe chute elements to the position where it will be raised by theplunger member 60 for insertion into the container 17.

If no other bobbins enter the enclosed chute 75 the indicator door willswing to the angular dotted line position shown in FIG. 2 and isaccomplished by means of a counterweight 115 on linkage rod 99. Thiscounterweight causes the linkage rod 99 to move downwardly and pivotsthe double armed lever 100 to a position which lifts the pivotable key57 from the transverse slot 53 of the crank arm 45. At this point thereis a cessation of movement of the crank feed arm 55 and the plunger feedarm 59 and plunger member 60 remain in their lowermost position shown inFIG. 2.

A continued flow of bobbins into the enclosed chute 75 maintains theindicator door in a generally vertical position and the bobbins areindividually and continually advanced through the chutes and loaded intothe container 17 by the plunger member 60.

An electrically controlled counting mechanism governs the number ofbobbins that are loaded into a given container 17 which will now bedescribed.

When the escapement latch 86 is actuated in the manner heretoforedescribed, the second arm 111 of the bell crank lever 109 is caused tomove to the solid line position shown in FIG. 2. During this movementthe second arm 111 contacts and actuates a switch 116 to complete acircuit and to energize a counter solenoid 117 shown in FIG. 6.

The counting mechanism is mounted within the supporting frame 18 andincludes a pair of spaced sprocket members 118 and 119 rotatablysupported on an upper girt member 120 by stud elements 121 and 122,respectively. In alignment with sprocket members 118 and 119, a lowergirt 123 supports a similar pair of sprockets 124 and 125 that arerotatably mounted on stud elements 126 and 127, respectively. The upperand lower girts 120 and 123 are disposed in spaced relation and areattached to the vertical end members of the supporting frame 18 by meansof bolts 128 and nuts 129 (FIG. 6).

The sprocket members of the counting mechanism are interconnected by anendless link chain 130 and the number of links which said chain containsis equivalent to the number of bobbins loaded into a given container.

Stud 121 which supports a sprocket 118 is somewhat longer than the othersprocket supporting studs of the counter mechanism and is supported onits outer end by a generally U-shaped support bracket 131 which issituably attached to the upper girt member 120 (FIG. 6).

. Stud 121 supports a ratchet disc 132 for rotation with sprocket 118, asecond ratchet disc 133 and an oscillatable actuating member having anupper arm 134 and a diametrically opposed lower arm 135. The upper arm134 includes a pivotable spring biased pawl 136 which is engageable withthe teeth of the ratchet disc 132. The lower arm is pivotably connectedto a lever 136 by means of a link 137 and the lower end of said lever 36is pivotably attached to a bracket element 138. Bracket element 138extends laterally from and is fixedly at- 7 tached to the solenoidsupport 139 that is attached to and extends between the upper and lowergirts 120 and 123.

The solenoid plunger is identified in FIG. 6 by numeral 140 and ispivotably attached to lever 136' at a point intermediate its ends as at141.

When solenoid 117 is energized by the closing of switch 116, the plunger140 is pulled inwardly to pivot lever 136 in a clockwise direction asviewed in FIG. 6. This movement through link 137 causes the oscillatableactuating member to rotate a short distance in an anticlockwisedirection and the pivotable spring biased pawl 136 on the upper arm 134which is engaged with one of the teeth of the ratchet disc 132, rotatessaid disc and the sprocket 118 a distance equivalent to one link of thechain 130. To limit the movement of the ratchet disc 132 and thesprocket 118 a second spring biased pawl 142 (FIG. 6), that is pivotablymounted on a depending portion 143 of the support bracket 131, isadapted to engage a tooth of the second ratchet disc 133.

The lower portion of the oscillatable actuating member is provided withan integrally for-med cam element 144 which is adapted to hold the pawl142 out of engagement with the second ratchet disc 133 and as sprocket118 is rotated said cam element is moved to a position which allows saidpawl to make contact with a tooth of said second ratchet disc 133.

When switch 116 is again opened by the reverse movement of arm 111 (FIG.2), solenoid 117 is de-energized and the oscillatable actuating memberis pivoted in a clockwise direction to its initial position by means ofa coil spring 145. One end of this spring is attached to the top of theupper arm 134 and the opposite end to a spring bracket 146 which isfixed to the side of the support bracket 131 by means of a cap screw147. This movement causes cam element 144 to push pawl 142 out ofengagement with the second ratchet disc 133 and the counting mechanismis then ready for its next increment advance of the chain 130. v

The chain is caused to move in the direction of the indicating arrow 148shown in FIG. 6 and must make one complete movement about the foursprockets of the counter mechanism to load the proper number of bobbinsinto a container 17.

Adjacent to sprocket 124 one of the vertical end members of thesupporting frame 18 supports a switch 149 which is closed to completeanother circuit to be described by a protruding roller 150 that isattached to one of the links of the chain 130.

When the first bobbin is loaded into a container the protruding rolleris one link beyond contact position with the switch 149. After loadingthe last bobbin, the chain will have made one complete movement aboutthe four sprockets, and the next increment of movement brings theprotruding roller into that position shown in FIG.

6 to depress the contact element 151 of the switch 149.

' The closing of switch 149 energizes and completes a circuit to twodifferent solenoids. The'first is identified in FIG. 2 by numeral 152which has a plunger 153 that is pushed outwardly when this solenoid isenergized. A first arm 154 of a pivotably mounted' bell crank lever isin contact with the plunger 153 and as the latter is pushed outwardly itpivots said bell crank lever causing a second arm 155 thereof to pivotdownwardly. I

This second arm 155 is in contact with a check nut 156 on the linkagerod 99-and the downward movement of said second arm moves said rod-in alike'direction. This movement of the linkage rod 99 pivots the doublearmed lever 100 to a'position to lift the pivotable key 57 out of thetransverse slot 53 of the crank' arm '45 thereby causing a cessation ofbobbin advancement through the chutes and 'actuation o'f-the plungermember 60.

At this point the full container is released by an indexing arrangementto be described for movement away from loading position and to allow anempty container to move into that position.

The second solenoid which is energized by the closing of switch 149 isidentified in FIGS. 4 and 7 by numeral 157 which is attached by means ofcap screws 158 to a generally L-shaped support bracket 159. This supportbracket 159 extends from and is assembled to the vertically extendingframe element 39 by means of bolts 160 and nuts 161.

This solenoids plunger member is depicted by numeral 162 (FIG. 4) and bymeans of a coil spring 163 it is connected to the upper end of a doublearmed lever generallyindicated by numeral 164. Lever 164 is pivotablymounted intermediate its ends on a stud 165 one end of which is fixedlyheld in an integrally formed boss 166' that depends from the supportbracket 159.

The lower end of lever 164 is in contact with the side of a liftinglever 166 (FIGS. 4 and 7) which has one end thereof universallysupported on a stud 167 that extends from and which is fixedly attachedto the frame element 13 in FIG. 4.

When solenoid 157 is energized the lifting cam 40 is at low center andas plunger 162 is drawn in'wardly it pivots the double armed lever 164in a direction which causes the lower end thereof to pivot the liftinglever 166 to a position to be contacted by the lifting cam 40.

Adjacent that end of the lifting lever 166 opposite the end that isuniversally attached to stud 165, a coil spring 168 is provided havingone end attached to said lifting lever as at 169 and the opposite end(not shown) at any suitable position within the structure of the loader.This spring is arranged to continually urge the lifting lever 166 to aposition out of contact with the lifting cam 40 and when solenoid 157 isde-energized said spring is effective in moving said lever to thatposition.

The end of the lifting lever adjacent to coil spring 168 has an upwardlydirected lifting rod 170 (FIGS. 1 and 7) pivotably attached thereto asat 171. The upper end of the rod 170 is pivotably connected to the endof a first arm 172 of a bell crank lever generally indicated by numeral173. This bell crank lever is pivotably supported at one end of amounting bracket 174 (FIGS. 1 and 7) which is fixedly attached to theupper end of the vertically extending frame element 39. Frame element 39extends above the supporting frame 18 as shown in FIG. 1 and in additionto the mounting bracket 174, it supports a junction box 175 that housesthe starting, stopping and jogging switches for manual control of theloader and are shown 'in said loaders circuitry diagram of FIG. 9.

The second arm of the bell crank lever 173 is depicted in FIGS. 1 and 7by numeral 176 and'is provided on the end thereof with a laterallyextending stud 177. One end of a push rod 178 is pivotably mounted onstud 177 and extending therefrom the opposite end is provided with aslotted rod end member 179 which is suitably attached to the upper endof a single armed lever 180. The lower end of lever 180 is in hub formand is fixed on one end of a shaft 181 (FIG. 1). Shaft 181 traverses thedistance between corner element 21 and the arch support 22. Shaft 181 isjournaled for oscillating movement in aligned bearing members 1 82 and183 (FIGS. 7 and 8) which are assembled to and adjacent the upper endsof the corner element 21 and arch support 22, respectively. A bobbinstacking'arm 184 is fixedly attached at one end to-the shaft181 and at aposition approximately midway between bearing members 182 and 183. Thestacking arm 184 is pivotable with shaft 181 and as shown in FIG. 7i'sadapted to be pivoted into and out of a container 17 that is in bobbinloading position.

' 'When an empty container 17 is in bobbin loading position as shown inFIG. 7, the stacking arm 184 is in its lowermost position withinsaid'container.

-As the bobbins are caused to be loaded into the container they have atendency to collect at the lower end due to the angular position of saidcontainer on the inclined track and to first fill that area beneath thestacking arm 184. As more bobbins are loaded they pivot the stacking armupwardly and when it has received its full compliment, said stacking armis in the intermediate position shown in FIG. 7. This arm is effectivein controlling the positioning of the bobbins as they are loaded.

When the container has received its full compliment of bobbins, theendless link chain 130 will havetraveled completely around the sprocketsof the counting mechanism and as heretofore described two differentsolenoids are simultaneously energized by theclosing of switch 149 bythe protruding roller 150.

The first of these solenoids 152 is effective upon the bobbin advancingand loading elements so as to cause a cessation thereof. The secondsolenoid 157 is effective through lever 164 in moving the lifting arm166 to a position to be contacted by the lifting cam 40. The rotarymotion of the lifting cam causes the lifting arm to pivot upwardlycausing the bell crank lever 173 to pivot in a clockwise direction, asseen in FIG. 7, by means of the lifting rod 17 0.

This motion moves the push rod 178 in the direction of the indicatingarrow 185 in FIG. 7 and pivots the single armed lever 180 in a clockwisedirection or from the intermediate position shown to that position shownmak ing contact with a switch 186. 1

When the single armed lever 180 is in that position in contact withswitch 186, it will have rotated shaft 181 to a position which placesthe stacking arm 184 in the uppermost position shown in FIG. 7.

The .closing of switch 186 completes a circuit to and energizes anindexing solenoid that is depicted in FIGS. 7 and 8 by numeral 187.

With the stackingarrn 184 raised to an elevated position, the indexingsolenoid is effective upon indexing linkage, which will be .more fullydescribed hereinafter, in releasing a full container from loadingposition and to permit the next empty container to move into saidloading position.

Due to the diameter of the lifting cam 40, the indexing of a fullcontainer is accomplished'during two revolutions of said cam. After thefirst revolution the container is released and moves a short distance toa position where it is temporarily held by a part of the indexinglinkage and after the second revolution it is released to move along theinclined track while the empty container following is moving intoloading position.

v To prevent the stacking arm 184 from dropping too rapidly andinterfering 'with the containers as an empty one moves into position toreplace the one moving away from loading position, a dash pot 188 (FIGS.1 and 7) is provided. This dash pot is in the form of an air cylinderwhich is attached at one end to the mounting bracket the end of the pushrod 178.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 that portion of the supporting frameimmediately adjacent to the inclined track includes a verticallyextending wall 190. This wall extends upwardly from rail member 11immediately adjacent to the container loading position on the inclinedtrack.

Apair of electrically controlled switches 191 and 192 that are disposedin spaced relation are supported by the wall 190 with the contactelements 193 and 194 thereof arranged so as to be in contact with thecontainers on the inclined track. These switches are connected inparallel and either one or both must be closed to keep the loadersdriving motor 26 from being shut off.

With a container in loading position, both switches 191 and 192 areclosed. As a container leaves the loading position contact with switch192 is lost; however the empty container following closes the latterswitch before the loaded container moves on to lose contact with switch191. When the last container is loaded and caused to be indexed formovement away from the loading position, contact is lost with bothswitches resulting in power to the loader being shutoff. In this eventan indicating light 195 is lit to indicatea cessation of bobbin loadingand this light is diagrammatically shown in FIG. 9 of the drawing.

The door 82 in the bottom of the container is provided with pins 196 oneach side thereof which protrude outwardly through appropriate slots inthe sides of said container. As the container moves into-loadingposition pins 196 are caused to move along the upper surface of cams 83and 84 to open said door a suflicient distance to permit the loading ofbobbins 78 therein. As the container leaves the loading position thepins 196 come into contact with closing cams 197 and 198 which arefixedly attached to the corner element 21 and the arch support 22,respectively, (FIGS. 1 and 3). When a loaded container moves away fromloading position pins 196 are forced downwardly to close the door 82 andto prevent the loss of any bobbins on its initial movement from saidposition a skid plate 199 is provided. This skid plate extends betweenthe rail members 11 and 12 adjacent to gate members and 81 and at aheight which places it in close proximity with the bottom of acontainer. The door 82 as it closes is pushed beneath the last loadedbobbin and the container is then allowed to move along the track to apick up position.

The indexing means for releasing a full container from bobbin loadingposition and for permitting the receiving of the following containerint-o loading position will now be described.

There are two sets of indexing elements generally indicated in FIGS. 1and 8 by numerals 200 and 201 which are positioned in alignment one withthe other on each side of the inclined track. Each of the indexingelements includes a support bracket having integrally formed hubs at theupper and lower extremities thereof. One of these support brackets isfixedly attached to the arch support 22 and is identified by numeral 202(FIG. 8). The other of these support brackets is depicted by numeral 203and is fixedly attached to the corner element 21 of the supporting frame18.

Each of the support bracket 202 and 203 supports for rot-ay movement intheir upper hubs, horizontally disposed shafts 204 and 205,respectively. These shafts 204 and 205 extend beyond the ends of theirrespective hubs and each supports in spaced relation a pair of indexingfingers or rotatable spoked members. The members fixed on shaft 204 areidentified by numerals 206 and 207 and the pair fixed on shaft 205 aredepicted by numerals 208 and 209. Each spoked member has four equallyspaced and radially extending spoke elements and each pair is arrangedon its respective shaft so that the radially extending spokes of one aredisposed intermediate the spokes of the other. The fingers or spokes ofthe spoked members 206 and 208 extend in like directions and the spokesor fingers of the spoked members 207 and 209 extend in the samedirection.

When a container 17 is in bobbin loading position on the inclined tracka pair of horizontally disposed spokes of spoked members 206 and 208 areadapted to engage a pair of outwardly extending ears 210 and 211 (FIG.8) provided on the sides of said container.

0n the first index indication, spoked members 206 and 208 are caused torotate 45 degrees by a mechanism to be more fully described, and thespokes of spoked members 207 and 209 are moved simultaneously to aposition where a pair of spokes thereof will engage the ears 210 and 211of the container as it moves away from loading position. On the nextindication the spokes of spoked members 207 and 209 are rotated 45degrees and out of 1 1 engagement with the ears 210 and 211; thereof,allowing the loaded container to move down the track. On the secondindex indication a pair of the spokes of spoked members 206 and 208again assume a horizontal position and are in position to retain thenext following container in bobbin loading position.

The lower hubs of the support brackets 202 and 203 each support forrotation a horizontally disposed shaft 212 and 213, respectively. Theseshafts extend outwardly beyond the ends of their respective hubs and arein vertical alignment with shafts 204 and 205. Shafts 204 and 205 areeach provided with sprocket members which are depicted in FIG. 8 bynumerals 214 and 215, respectively. These sprocket members are fixed onshafts 204 and 205 immediately adjacent to the spoked members 207 and209 and are in vertical alignment with similar sprockets (one only shownin FIG. 1) that are fixed on the ends of the shafts 212 and 213. Shafts204 and 212 and 205 and 213 are interconnected by endless link chains216 and 217, respectively, which are in meshing relation with thesprockets carried thereon.

A second pair of sprockets are carried on shafts 212 and 213 one ofwhich is identified in FIG. 8 by numeral 218 and the other in FIGS. 7and 7A by numeral 219. A horizontally disposed endless link chain 220 isin meshing relation with sprockets 218 and 219 and provides the meansfor rotating the shafts 204 and 205 with their respective spoked memberssimultaneously.

That end of shaft 213 extending from the lower hub of support bracket203 opopsite the end to which the sprocket members are attached, isprovided with a pair of fixed ratchet discs 221 and 222 which aredisposed in spaced relation with the teeth thereof being directed inopposite directions. As shown in FIG. 7A, a pivotable lever 223 isassembled on shaft 213 and in a position intermediate the ratchet discs221 and 222.

A spring biased pawl 224 is mounted on the side of lever 223 as at 225(FIG. 8) and is engageable with the teeth of the ratchet disc 221.

A second pawl 226 is pivotally mounted in an integrally formed boss 227provided on the side of the support bracket 203 and is engageable withthe teeth of the ratchet disc 222.

The lower end of a linkage bar 228 is pivotally attached to the lever223 as at 229 (FIG. 8) and the upper end thereof is pivotably attachedtoa lever element 230 which is mounted for pivotable movement to the sideof the support bracket 203.

A leaf spring 231 is fixedly attached to the linkage bar 228 as at 232and extending from its attachment point the free end thereof isengageble with the second pawl 226.

A linkage connection generally indicated in FIG. 8 by numeral 233 ispivotably attached at its upper end to the lever 223 as at 234 and thelower end thereof is attached in a similar manner to the end of a lever235 as at 236. The opposite end of lever 235 is pivotably supported asat 237 to the lower portion of a mounting bracket 238 which is adaptedtosupport the indexing solenoid 187.

Intermediate the ends of lever 235 the plunger 239 of the indexingsolenoid 187 is pivotable connected to said lever by means of a link 240(FIG. 8).

The linkage connection 233 includes an upper cylindrical portion 241 anda lower plunger portion 242 which is slidable into said cylindricalportion. A coil spring 243 is seated within the cylindrical portion 241and the lower end thereof is in contact with the upper end of theplunger portion 242. A collar 244 is fixedly assembled on the lowerplunger portion 242 in spaced relation to the lower end of thecylindrical portion 241.

When switch 186 is closed by the single armed lever 180 a circuit iscompleted through to and energizes the indexing solenoid 187. Plunger239 is immediately drawn inwardly and the rapid upward swing of lever235 causes the plunger portion 242 to compress the coil spring 243within the cylindrical portion 241. During this movement the collar 244on the plunger portion 242 strikes the lower end of the cylindricalportion 241 pushing the same upwardly and pivoting the lever 223 in ananti-clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 8. The spring biased pawl 224mounted on lever 223 being in contact with the teeth of the ratchet disc221 rotates the latter a sufficient distance in an anti-clockwisedirection so as to rotate the spoked members 206 and 208, by means ofthe sprocket and chain connections, out of contact with the ears 210 and211 of the container 17.

The expansion of coil spring 243 continues to move lever 223 in ananti-clockwise direction which in turn pushes linkage bar 228 in anupwardly and inwardly direction simultaneously due to its connectionwith the lever element 230. This motion forces the leaf spring againstthe seocnd pawl 226 and when ratchet disc 221 has rotated the distanceof one tooth, said second pawl comes into contact with a tooth onratchet disc 222 to stop furtheir movement of ratchet disc 221 and shaft213.

This movement has rotated the spoked 'members 206 and 208 45 degreesbringing a pair of spoked members 207 and 209 into a horizontal positionto stop the loaded container 17 as it moves a short distance away fromloading position.

The second rotation of the lifting cam 40- again pivots the one armedlever 180 through its interconnecting linkage and closes switch 186which again energizes and activates the indexing solenoid 187. Theindexing motion described above is again repeated and the spoked members207 and 209 are rotated to permit the loaded container to move down theinclined track. During the latter indexing motion a pair of the spokedmembers 206 and 208 have again resumed a horizontal position which stopsand positions the following container 17 in bobbin loading position.

After release of the loaded container from the spoked members 207 and209, the container as it moves away from this position strikes a contactelement 245 of a switch 246 (FIG. 3) which is then closed and completesa circuit to and activates the counter solenoid 117. The countersolenoid then advances the chain a single link which moves theprotruding roller out of contact with the contact element 151 of theswitch 149. Switch 149 now being open, the first and'second solenoid 152and 157 are de-energized. The de-energizing of these solenoids permitscoil spring 168 to pull the lifting lever 166 out of contact with thelifting cam 40. Additionally, the linkage rod 99 is permitted to moveupwardly to pivot the double armed lever 100 to a position to allow thepivotable key 57 to enter the transverse slot 53 in the crank arm 45 andthe loader is in normal operating condition to commence the loading ofbobbins into the next container 17.

Referring to FIG. 9, the motor 26 is powered through a main disconnect247 which is housed in the control box 24 shown in FIG. 1, through motorcontroller contacts 248 and is protected by main fuses 249 and motoroverload relays 250.

Controlled voltage is obtained through a transformer 251 and saidvotlage is fused by fuses 252 and 253.

The circuitry is more or less of the conventional type and includescontrol elements for starting jogging and stopping the loader and areidentified by numerals 254, 255 and 256, respectively.

The indicator light is operated through control relay contacts 257 andindicates power on but loader not operating.

The jog switch overrides or bypasses the switches identified by numerals191, 192 and 258.

A control relay 259 is operated by the start, stop and jog circuit andin addition said control relay can be deenergized by switches 191, 192,258 and the motor overloads 250.

The control relay 259 when energized; de-energizes the indicator lightand energizes a motor controller 260. This motor controller then startsthe motor 26 through the motor contacts 248 and energizes the solenoidcircuit.

The switch 258 shown in FIG. 9 is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4 as beingattached adjacent one end of the pitman 43. The pitman is of two piececonstruction with one portion being slidable inside of the other in theevent it is subjected to abnormal pressure such as a jam or the like. Inthis event the switch is closed by a lug 261 fixedly positioned on thepitman and power to the loader is automatically discontinued.

In operation, a plurality of empty containers 17 can be supported by theinclined track and so disposed as to move toward bobbin loading positionthrough the force of gravity. After a given container has received itsfull compliment of bobbins, it is released by the indexing arrangementand will move away from loading position to the lower end of the trackwhere it is ready for pickup and placement upon a donning machine.

As one container leaves the loading position, the next followingcontainer moves into position for loading and this sequence repeatsitself until the last container is loaded.

As the last container is released from loading position, switch 191 isopened to discontinue further advancement and loading of the bobbins andcompletes the circuit to the indicating light 195 and signifies to anoperator that the power is still on but the loader is not operating.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to beunderstood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number ofways. This invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precisedetails described, but is intended to embrace all variations andmodifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and thescope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a bobbin container loading apparatus having a container supportinginclined track for advancing a plu rality of containers through theforce of gravity along the length thereof which comprises:

(a) a hopper element for receiving bobbins,

(-b) guide means communicating with said hopper element comprising anenclosed chute adapted for receiving said bobbins individually from saidhopper and for guiding said bobbins in a generally downwardly directionto a position beneath the container adapted to receive bobbins,

(c) an oscillatable arcuated escapement latch element functioning withinsaid guide means for individual advancement of said bobbins, said latchelement being movable from a first position for receiving and supportinga bobbin to a second position for urging said bobbin through theremainder of said chute and restricting advancement of the followingbobbin,

(d) further means for loading said bobbins individually into saidcontainer upwardly through the bottom thereof, and

(e) an indexing means for releasing a full container from bobbin loadingposition and for permitting the receiving of the following containerinto loading position.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said further means comprises aplunger member movable in substantially a vertical plane for pushing thebobbins advanced in said chute upwardly through an exit end thereof, andinto said container.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said enclosed chute includes apivotable bobbin sensing element adpacent the entrance thereofmechanically linked to a driving means for actuating said arcuated latchelement.

4. The structure of claim 3 wherein said driving means includes alifting arm interconnected with said plunger member for reciprocation ofthe latter in timed relation with the actuation of said arcuated latchelement.

5. The structure of claim 2 wherein said enclosed chute includes a pairof opposed spring biasedgate members communicating with said exit endfor preventing the return of said bobbins into said chute afterplacement in said container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,786,315 3/1957 Schweiter 53242X 2,873,063 2/ 1959 Schweiter 53242 X 3,435,586 4/1969 Scherr 532423,005,299 10/1961 Dietiker 53148 X 3,370,395 2/ 1968 Siegenthaller.

3,250,186 5/1966 White.

3,269,083 8/1966 Marano 53236 X 3,368,766 '2/1968 Livingston 53160 X3,398,520 8/1968 Chabot 57-53 WAYNE A. MORSE, JR., Primary Examiner US.Cl. X.R.

